Gurpreet’s Family donate his eyes to keep part of him alive

Even though their son was brutally killed by a total stranger over a petty tiff, this reason didn’t dissuade Gurpreet Singh’s parents from donating his eyes to another strange being.

Moments after Gurpreet succumbed to his injuries and his body was handed over to his family, Gurpreet’s father Onkar Singh Dounshi expressed his wish and asked doctors to give his son’s eyes to someone in need.

He said, “It is my wish. If someone sees through my son’s eyes, a part of Gurpreet would stay alive and that would be enough for me.”

Gurpreet Singh was cremated in his native village Lehra Mohabbat in Bathinda district on Thursday.

Gurpreet’s family was informed of their son’s accident at about 6.20 am.

“He had taken the motorcycle from Bathinda just a week ago as his work required him to travel a lot and come late. The accused rammed his motorcycle intentionally from behind. The rear tyre was totally crushed,” Dounshi said.

Gurpreet was interested in photography and after pursuing it for some time as an amateur; he obtained admission in a prestigious college here for a one-year diploma course. Gurpreet’s sister, Harpreet recalls how, “He did his schooling in Bathinda and then started photography.”

The accused, Rohit Krishna Mahanta, a native of Assam, was today remanded in police custody for a day by a city court for dashing his car into a motorcycle Gurpreet Singh and his friend Maninder Singh were riding, resulting in the death of Gurpreet and injuries to the latter.

The Delhi Police, who had initially booked Mahanta, a resident of Assam, under sections 337 (road accident causing hurt) and 279 (rash and negligent driving) of the IPC, today charged him with murder under Section 302, besides adding sections 295-A (deliberate act intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting his religion) and 307 (criminal intimidation) to the FIR.

A native of Bathinda, Gurpreet came to Delhi with a dream to become a documentary filmmaker. “I told him to follow his dream. He had the talent and he was a kind boy who could not see people in pain. I knew he would contribute to the society,” said Gurpreet’s father, Onkar Singh.

Earlier this month, Gurpreet brought to Delhi his Bullet motorcycle from Bathinda. He wanted to be able to move freely for his project, his family said.

He and his wife had rushed to the city when they came to know that their son had slipped in a coma after allegedly being hit by a car, driven by a lawyer with whom he had entered into an argument over smoking in public.

On Tuesday, Onkar Singh had sent his wife away to her village. “I told her to pray for our son. I told her to do charity to pray for our son’s recovery. She had been visiting gurdwaras since Tuesday. I don’t have the heart to tell her that her prayers went unheard,” he said.

DGSMC seeks Rs1-cr relief

The DSGMC today asked the Delhi Government to name its campaign for de-addiction in the name of Gurpreet. DSGMC president Manjit Singh GK and general secretary Manjinder Singh Sirsa demanded that the government should pay Rs1 crore as ex gratia to Gurpreet’s family. He demanded dismissal of the officers who tried to hush up the case and handing over probe to the CBI. He said if the demands were not met, the Delhi police headquarters would be ‘gheraoed’ on September 23.

SinghStation is a one stop multimedia platform to bring Sikhs across on one platform to bring attention to news, events and other Sikhi related issues from local communities through a non-profit seva based organisation.